Chasing Infinity
by thegrandfinALY
Summary: The BAU team is thrown into a world of the most horrifying nightmares. When a house in Pennsylvania is left victim to a gruesome crime scene, the team will have to race against time to find the missing pieces. Slightly AU, because I'm ignoring the S8 finale. Rossi/Strauss centric, but the team will be in almost every chapter. T rating to be safe. Maybe other pairings later.
1. Pursuit of Safety

****Finally got around to writing this, but chapter 2 is taking longer than I expected. It will be a lot longer than this chapter, but I felt the urge to post something.**  
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****DISCLAIMER: I do not own Criminal Minds or the characters. There would be too many people rising from the dead if I did. However, you'll meet Liza this chapter and she is a character that I own because she lives in my mind. I really appreciated the reviews on my first story, so I hope everyone enjoys this, too. Special thanks to RebaForever15, crysanialyndhurst, and Janeway69 for my first reviews! Get ready for a crazy ride, my friends. :)******  
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Branches snap with sharp screams as she runs. These woods are no stranger to her, being as they are located directly behind her house. It wasn't _her house; _Momma would beat her silly for saying something like that. But it seems like such a foreign place now. All the dirty furniture, – a disgrace to her "Princess" lifestyle – dusty photographs of people she never knew scattered about the roach-infested floor. The house looked as if its owners had abandoned it several eons ago. Nothing except wicked recollections remained in that house, but they had quickly croaked with those who held them. Only mere minutes ago her mother had forced her minor form out the torn screen door, but that was the last time she had seen her.

"Bad children stay outside, Elizabeth," she hissed. Liza. That was what she liked to be called. She hated being called Elizabeth, but she had no friends and Momma would never allow that nonsense under her roof – the Swiss cheese roof. Although she was plainly racing for her life through the tough bushes and ancient trees, Liza had to snicker to herself. Momma's roof always had holes in it, and it seemed that with each storm a new one would join the ceiling party, which now consisted of at least fifty craters. But the thought of Swiss cheese made her ravenous stomach rumble, and her new fear of being heard transformed into adrenaline, compelling her to continue her mad dash to safety. Momma had made dinner. She set two plates at the table – one for herself and one for Father. In the meantime, Liza was still considered an "ungrateful brat" which left her stomach empty until breakfast tomorrow.

The not-so-pristine fixtures of tables, chairs and couches were ruined and picture frames were shattered when Liza left the house the second time, the first being when Momma made her leave. She would be so angry with her if she saw that mess, but there was no time to clean, not with that man trailing her.

She sighed hopelessly as she rested her bleeding feet – there was that appalling red again – beneath her favorite tree: the gentle oak. She had forgotten her ragged shoes, not like they would've been much help. They were a couple years old and much too small for her growing feet. She only kept them because Granny had given them to her as a gift for her fourth birthday. She yearned to see her granny again. It had been one year, seven months, and sixteen days since they took Granny away. She was the only person in the family worth saving, but instead they had ripped away her life with the simple push of about nine or ten buttons. She was beginning to become healthier, too, and Liza knew it. If Father hadn't made the decision to kill his loving momma right there, she would be alive today, fully recovered.

Her granny's heart had stopped with push of that last red button – she had always disliked the color red before, but after that moment she swore she hated it. Just as Liza was thinking of Granny's heart fading off, her's did a flip, along with a wave of nausea that hit her stomach like a baseball bat. She heard it. The low, masculine grunt. It couldn't have been more than five feet away from her. _Was it from her left? Right? Behind her? In front of her? Maybe it was her stomach again? No. It couldn't be. _She'd never been a religious girl, but even she recognized that God, or whatever higher being above, was the only person that had the answer to her silent questions.

If she ran, he would hear her steps and see her movements in the moonlight, and she'd be dead. If she stayed here, he would find her crouched beneath the tree, and she'd be dead. _Mistakes, mistakes, Elizabeth. You're the biggest, so it's no wonder you make them all the time. _Her mother's voice mocked her. She thought as deeply as she could about how to save herself from the impending doom surrounding her. Nothing. She took a shaky breath and did the one thing that she would consider her final revenge on the man that was inevitably going to murder her. She screamed.

****Chapter 2 coming up soon! Short prologue, I know, but the next one will be really long, I promise! Love it, hate it, everybody has an opinion, so hit that review button and let me know what you think!  
****~Aly******  
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	2. Going In Together

****As promised, here's a long one. Hope you like it!****

A sweet feminine hum came from his left, and David Rossi's eyes fluttered open. Expecting to see his lover's sleeping form, he was taken aback by the empty spot beside him. Confusion struck him and the previous noise made another projecting whine. He sighed in frustration as the source of sound was made apparent. His cell phone. The only things he ever enjoyed about that dreadful piece of technology were the captivatingly delightful texts he had received from Erin throughout the course of their practically newfound relationship. Whenever he was away on a case, busy with work, she would send him comfort through those simple messages. He enjoyed hearing her voice over the phone, but much to his dismay, there was very little, if any, time for that, but the texts were enough to keep him going.

Clearing his throat, he answered the phone. "Rossi," he uttered, the drowsiness of his Saturday morning slumber still evident in his speech.

"Dave," Hotch spoke authoritatively into the receiver, knowing that his next words would create an epitome of irritation for the older man. "We've got a case." He heard David's inevitable sigh, and he continued. "A family was murdered in Swatara, Pennsylvania. The daughter is missing. The mother, father, and a friend who had been staying at the house were killed. We'll go over all the details when everyone arrives."

With a huff of breath he asked Hotch "What time do you want me there?"

"Wheels up at 10:30. Be here by ten; we'll brief on the jet." With that, both men ended the call.

David groggily heaved himself out of bed. The aroma of coffee that had gone unnoticed minutes earlier was now filling his nose. A small grin appeared on his face, wrinkling the soft skin around his deep brown eyes. All the little things Erin did added up to make her the quintessence of a perfect wife, but he knew she'd never go for that. _David Rossi, you've had three wives already and I've had one worthless husband. Marriage doesn't seem to work for us, now does it? _He chuckled lightly to himself as he heard her frustrated, but oh-so-adorable voice sweep through his head. Dave knew that Erin wasn't very keen on getting remarried, but he wanted to show the rest of the world just how much he loved her, and he was determined to find a way to crumble that last wall of hers.

After putting his shoes on and fixing his tie into place, Dave picked up the shining watch from the bedside table and clipped it around his left wrist. Erin had gotten it for him a few weeks ago as a birthday present. On his visit to Thomas Yates' prison cell the day of his 57th birthday, his favorite watch had been smashed by a different repulsive prisoner attempting escape. She always seemed to have the perfect timing with things like these, and he was sure this was his new favorite watch, mostly because it was from her. As soon as he went down stairs, Erin would know he had a case to go to. There was never a time when she didn't know when there was a case; her superiority having absolutely nothing to do with that knowledge. Dave hated leaving her, but a little girl was missing and without knowing the details of the case, he already wanted to catch the bastard that killed her family.

When Dave reached the bottom of the staircase, he was greeted by the image of her robe clad body. He watched Erin move freely about his kitchen; washing the dirty dishes from last night's romantic dinner, making coffee for them to sip on as they sat in his back yard, watching the early sun awaken amidst the birdsongs of sparrows and warblers. He stopped thinking to himself as he made his way over to her. Erin was pouring two cups of Columbian coffee into pretty blue mugs she had brought there from her house. David pressed the front of his body firmly to the back of hers and snaked his arms around her waist. "Good morning, bella." Erin loved when he called her that, it being her favorite Italian endearment form when they had their fling in the 80s. Back then, she had thought herself to be anything except beautiful, but every moment spent in David's arms changed her perspective about her outward appearance, and he wanted to remind her how attractive she was every day of their lives together.

"Good morning, David," Erin replied in a sultry voice as he kissed the exposed flesh on her neck. She finished filling the mugs to their brims and turned around in his arms. The happiness of his presence quickly dispersed when she realized what he was wearing. Black dress pants, tucked in white button-down shirt paired with a crimson tie, and the new stainless steel and gold watch glistening in the morning sun: there was a new case.

"How bad?" she asked softly. Erin didn't want David to leave; she never did, but work was unescapable, even on his day off.

"Triple homicide. Maybe one more." He pulled her closer to his chest, smelling the grapefruit and bergamot mixture emanating from her recently washed blonde hair.

"Maybe?" she asked, puzzled. Erin may have been a field agent before, but she was nothing more than an analyst, so it was difficult for her to understand the thoughts of the legendary profiler before her.

"A little girl was taken from the scene." The words hit her like a bullet to the brain. Cases with children were difficult for her to handle, – she did have three children after all – but they were worse on David. She snuggled closer to his body and soothingly traced meaningless patterns across his back. After David lost his only son all those years ago, he was never able to stomach cases involving children. They stood in silence for a few minutes, and Erin replayed the night David told her about James.

_Erin laid her golden head in David's lap as he sat on the warm sofa in his living room. They had lost electricity as the storm outside raged on and on. David convinced her to stay, and she obliged, knowing he needed someone to talk to. He moved his hand up to cup her cheek and leaned down to kiss her. Just by his kiss, Erin knew something was wrong. "David, is there something you want to talk about?" She was trying to be cautious of her choice of words. The BAU's last case had ended with the death of two children and Erin knew that Dave would be upset._

_"I never told you why I was like this, did I? I never told you about James?"_

_"No." Erin had known of James, but she never knew who he was. It was an unspoken rule to never bring his name up around David, and she always followed the rules._

_"I think that," he paused with a deep sigh, "maybe now would be a good time."_

_He was hesitant, so she wanted to reassure him that he didn't have to share anything with her that he didn't want to. Their romantic affiliation was still new, and although they had known each other for twenty-something years, she didn't want to pressure him. "David, you don't have to do this."_

_"Erin, if we're going to keep us, you know, our relationship, going, then there are some things that I just have to tell you, because I love you."_

_A smile passed over her features that said 'I know exactly what you mean'. Erin moved herself next to him and snuggled beside his worried body. "I love you, too." She leaned up to kiss him, prompting him to continue._

_"Do you remember Carolyn? My first wife."_

_"Yeah, you two got married, what? A month after Richard and me?"_

_Dave nodded. "We had a son." He looked down at Erin's face, expecting to see a shocked expression. She looked a little stunned, but the love in her blue-green eyes showed him that she wanted to know more, that she cared._

_"His name was James. James David Rossi. He lived for only a few days, but Carolyn and I couldn't have loved him more." Dave tried to blink away his tears, but Erin let hers fall onto his cotton shirt. She had never seen him more vulnerable. She gave his hand a light squeeze. Dave took another deep breath. "We got divorced after he died. Carolyn couldn't have any more children and we blamed his death on ourselves."_

_"You couldn't have done anything to stop it, David." She was trying to be comforting as best as she could, but she could feel her own heart breaking with his._

_Ignoring her condolences, he said, "he wasn't born premature. There wasn't supposed to be anything wrong with him. He just fell asleep one night and never woke up. No one should ever have to bury their baby." With his last words on the subject, David dropped his chin to his chest and began to mourn his son's death all over again. Erin moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his back and pulling him on top of her. With his head on her chest, he laid still and he sobbed in her arms. She reached a hand up and rustled her fingers through his hair while her other hand slowly massaged his back. Eventually his harsh sobs stopped, and as he listened to Erin's heart beat beneath him, David drifted into a serene rest._

The story of the passing of her companion's only son, only child for that matter, that was being told in her mind was interrupted by the sharp ringing of her cell phone's vibrations. She reluctantly moved from his grasp and picked her Blackberry up from his Italian granite countertop.

Great, it was the director. Which meant one thing and one thing only: her day off was being rescheduled as well. "Section Chief Strauss," she answered formally, hiding her exasperation.

"Strauss," the director puffed out, "I want you supervising this case."

"And what case would that be, sir?" She had a feeling it was the same case with David, but she didn't want to jinx it.

"There was a triple homicide in Swatara, Pennsylvania. Agent Hotchner has informed me that the BAU will be departing shortly. I want you on that jet supervising the case. It's already gained unwanted media attention. Handle it," he stated firmly, and without waiting for her response, he hung up.

Ever since her return from rehab and her divorce, the director had been nothing short of a pompous asshole. She doubted that he even wanted her back, but even he knew that no one did the job better than she did. He became the way he currently was soon after her divorce with Richard. Neil Johnson, the director of the FBI, and Richard Strauss had been the best of friends for decades, and Neil used to be just as kind towards Erin, until Richard found his mistress. He divorced her for a twenty-something bimbo and used her drinking problem to get custody of their 16-year-old daughter, but Richard was still Neil's best friend. Without him on her arm, Erin was nothing more than an incompetent woman to her supervisor.

She set the phone down with a sigh and reached down to hold David's hands. She didn't remember when he came to stand behind her, when he put his loving and muscular arms around her nervous body, but she was thankful he was there. "At least I still get to spend some time with you, right?" He whispered into her ear. David lightly kissed the spot beneath it, knowing Erin loved that. He let go of his grasp on her hands, placing his hands back onto her hips and turning her to face him. Erin absentmindedly played with his tie as she spoke.

"Not really. I mean, I'll get to see you, but we have to act professional." She dropped his tie to make air quotes with her fingers when she said professional, acting like a teenager whose boyfriend didn't have any classes with her. "How about I make it up to you when the case is over, okay?"

A sly smile crept across David's face as he thought of all the mischievous things he wanted Erin to do as an apology, although it really wasn't her fault.

He leaned down to kiss her, softly whispering against her lips, he said "think I could get a preview of your apology? Maybe help you with that?" He rubbed his hands on the sides of her body, nodding towards her silk robe. His hands moved towards the belt of her robe. She let out a bubbly, childish giggle and lightly smacked his hands away before he could do anything.

He was grinning like a Cheshire cat, showing the guiltiness of desire she had previously hidden. "And may I ask why you are denying me of these privileges, Miss Strauss?" the mock hurt emanating strongly from his husky voice.

"Well, Agent Rossi," she said slowly, putting on her most official Section Chief Strauss Act. She moved away from his body, making sure to brush it ever so lightly. She turned away from him, but spoke loud enough for him to hear her playful, yet torturous words. "These privileges, as you call them, require time, that of which we have none of. However," she turned to face him, "I believe I can offer you something in their place." She smirked, grabbing his hand before he could respond and began guiding him over to the staircase that ascended to their bedroom on the second floor.

"Anxious aren't we, Miss Strauss?" Dave said in response to her actions, taking the opportunity to continue their charade. Stopping at the top of the stairs, he interrupted her movement towards the bedroom door. "You know, bella," he said breaking the game they were playing, "I would've said yes." He smirked, bent down to kiss Erin's forehead that was – thanks to him – wrinkled in annoyance, and allowed her to lead him to their previous destination.

Letting go of his hand, she walked over to their king size bed that was positioned in the center back of the room, sat down on the edge of it, and motioned for him to stand by her side. He followed her request and waited for further instructions. "Here's the deal," she began, "I need to make sure I have everything in my bag and finish packing the things I don't." David sat down on the bed beside her, his sudden weight shifting her body closer to him. He put an arm around her thin shoulders and she looked up at his smiling face. "But, I need your help."

"What do you want me to do?" He asked lovingly.

"Can you pick me out something to wear?" His eyes lit up with lust; he knew what she was doing. _We can't do anything this morning, but I'll give you something to look at all day._

"Okay." He gave her a knowing look and a light peck on the lips. He got up from his position on the bed to fulfill her request, or rather her gift to him. He opened the double doors and stepped into the large, walk-in closet. Flicking on the light switch to his right, the room was illuminated with color. A fourth of it was filled with his clothes, suits organized by formality, shoes shined and polished to perfection and placed beneath them. A few mountainous piles of his everyday clothing sat in the corner and the racks of clothing on the other side belonged to her. All of that organization was thanks to Erin. Whenever she was alone in his mansion – albeit Mudgie was great company – she organized and cleaned things around the house to pass the time.

Most of Erin's clothes were still at her house, but a collection of items had been made up in his closet from all of her "I just want to see you" visits that had turned into sleepovers. He smiled to himself as he remembered all the times she had come to see him. At this point in their relationship, she practically lived with him, and he wanted her to move in, but she wouldn't unless the kids agreed to it. And knowing Erin, she would never force her kids to make a decision like that.

After her divorce, she had gotten the house that she and Richard had raised their family in. But in light of Erin's alcohol abuse, she was forced to share custody of Charlotte, their youngest daughter. Every other week, it was Erin's turn to spend time with Charlotte, and she was definitely the most forgiving of Erin's children. About two months ago, she started spending her court-regulated time with her mother at his house. It was a great opportunity to get to know the sassy, exuberant, 16-year-old that he had recently began to call "Charlie". Everyone in the family called her that, and so did her friends, but it meant the world to David.

Because Erin's other children were over eighteen and busy college students, they didn't spend a lot of time with either of their parents. Zach, the middle child, and Amanda, the oldest, had spent some time with David as well. He thought Amanda would've been the most skeptical of the three, but she had become close to him, quickly following suit of Charlotte. As expected, Zach wasn't too keen on meeting his mother's boyfriend. He didn't like spending time with his father and his new, air-headed wife, but Dave wasn't that bad of a guy is his opinion. He could tell that his mother loved him, and that was all that mattered. The children were beginning to see the happy, sober mother that they always loved, and Dave was glad to be a part of that.

He reached out and grabbed the fuchsia top, dark grey pencil skirt, and matching sweater from the hangers in front of him. The top was cut a little too low, the skirt was the perfect short length, and he knew she would object, but she let him pick out whatever he wanted, right?

He turned the lights off before exiting the closet and quickly shutting the doors. By the time she was done getting dressed, they'd only have about 25 minutes to get to Quantico. When they drove in together, a rare occasion due to their occupations, they usually stopped for breakfast on the way there, but there was no time today. She was sitting in the same spot as before, but her hair was up in the no-nonsense bun and she had make-up on, covering the flaws that were invisible to David's eyes. Two black duffel bags were lying beside her – one for her, one for him. She was good at getting herself together quickly; he had learned that in the dingy hotel room 25 years ago, but he didn't realize how long he was searching throughout the closet until he looked at the clock. _9:16._ Had he really been in there for 20 minutes? It wasn't unusual for his thoughts to take him out of focus, but it usually wasn't for that long.

As if reading his mind, she looked up and said "What took you so long?"

"I had to pick out something that would look as beautiful as you," he replied. She blushed at his cheesy statement, knowing the truth behind his words. "And I wanted to make sure you had no time to protest my decision," a smirk forming across his features.

She couldn't help but laugh. It was typical David, always wanting to be in control, but he was right. There was no time to argue. Even though the team knew about their relationship, she was still their superior, and she absolutely had to be there on time. He handed her his choice and she sighed. He knew she hated wearing this outfit to work. In fact, she hadn't worn it for about three or four years. It was too skimpy and it was disgraceful how much this ensemble could undermine her authority, but she promised him something, and now was the time to follow through on that promise.

He watched her as she quickly dressed herself and slipped on her suede Jimmy Choo pumps. He walked up behind her as he had done earlier that morning. David rested his chin on her shoulder, tickling her neck with the stubble from his goatee. Erin tilted her head back to kiss him. "We have to go now, bella," he hummed in gratitude of her kiss. She gave him another quick kiss before moving away from him and disappearing down the steps. He grabbed the bags on the bed and followed the imaginary footprints that she had left behind.

Before entering the garage, he set the alarm for the house and with a few beeps, everything was secure. They both got into the black SUV. The idea behind driving together was the thought that it would be a good idea to actually be able to spend time with each other. Sometimes they would talk, other times they would listen to the radio. But nothing compared to the blissful quietness they shared. Erin and David always spent a lot of time apart from each other, but there was nothing more peaceful than sharing a few moments of sweet nothingness.

****Please review! Next chapter will have the team together and some more details from the case. Thank you so very much for reading!****


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